The Other Side of the Screen
by Della Ithilien
Summary: The events of the 74th Hunger Games told from Gale's POV as he and District 12 watch Katniss, Peeta and the games from the other side of the screen.
1. The Reaping

The Hunger Games: The Other Side of the Screen- Gale's POV During the 74th Hunger Games

_A/N: This is what I think Gale was doing through the events of the Hunger Games. All dialogue is from the book until Katniss' view can't provide any insight. So it's a book-based FF but I want to use some movie info too for non-Katniss events so I don't own any of that good stuff. I think I'm going to go by the chapters in the book so this first one isn't really too much new stuff since Katniss is still around. I tried to write in the Hunger Games style too. Let me know what you think! Thanks for reading!_

"Primrose Everdeen!"

At first I'm sure I hear wrong because of all the citizens of District 12, Prim is the one name who couldn't be called. Thousands of names and hers is only on one piece of paper. So I am almost able to convince myself I hear wrong.

But I don't hear wrong.

"Prim!" I hear over the murmuring crowd. I know that voice too well. Katniss reacts by pushing other boys and girls out of her way, despite the fact that they have already cleared a path for her. "Prim!" She calls again as she rushes toward her sister.

I move to the end of the row I am standing in. Katniss fiercely shoved Prim behind her own body protectively and my heart sinks as I realize what is about to happen next.

"I volunteer! I volunteer as tribute!"

Confusion breaks out on the stage. I focus on Katniss. I can see it sink in as we both realize what this sacrifice means. Then, it hits Prim.

"No!" She screams at the top of her lungs as she wraps her arms around her sister, her lifeline, her best friend. I know she will never let go, desperate screams are the only thing she can do to stop her sister. "No, Katniss! No! You can't go!" I can see Katniss' face on the screen. She is trying to put on a brave face, but Prim's pleas are cracking her. I rush forward.

"Prim, let go! Let go!" I hear her say before I surprise Prim from behind just enough that she loosens her grip on her sister. She flails in mu arms but I keep hold of her, I understand her entirely. If only holding Katniss and never letting go could save her, could stop her from going on that stage and ultimately, to the arena.

Katniss turns to us. I see every emotion play across her face in that moment, but she controls it. Her hands shake beside her and I want to tell her it will be alright, that she will come home the victor. Despite my desire to wake up screaming from this bad dream, I know I need to keep calm for her. I can barely control my own face as I meet her eyes. This can't be real. This can't be. But it is, and no amount of protesting will be able to save her from the Games now.

All I end up saying is, "Up you go, Catnip."

I swallow hard and carry Prim to her mother. Mrs. Everdeen holds Prim as she sobs in her arms and I gather I am shaking too.

When I turn back around, I see Katniss' eyes looking at Prim.

Effie Trinket is saying, "I bet my buttons that was your sister. Don't want her to steal all the glory, do we?" I realize I am fuming. Glory? Sacrificing her life for her sisters is seen as a selfish grab for glory to the Capitol? Do they truly believe that garbage, or are they just so disgusting that lies are the only way they justify sending kids off to die?

Effie smiles as she continues. "Come on, everybody! Let's give a big round of applause to our newest tribute!"

There isn't a sound. No one moves. We stand looking at Katniss, we see the sacrifice for what is truly is and understand how few make it for their loved ones at all, and we show how wrong this whole thing is with our rebellious silence. Then a man raises three fingers of his left hand to his lips and then holds it out to Katniss. I follow him, using the same gesture that sends our love and support to her. Soon, the whole crowd does it. They are thanking her, standing with her, and saying goodbye.

Effie looks confused, almost unsure of what to do next. Katniss is ready to cry as she looks across the crowd. This is more meaningful to her than anything the district has ever done. More than the extra soup Greasy Sae puts in her bowl, more than the medals we got when our fathers died. But Haymitch… drunken former tribute Haymitch stands and knocks his chair over as he thumps his way across the stage. He stands between Effie and Katniss, throwing his arm around her, very obviously drunk. Who can blame him?

"Look at her. Look at this one! I like her! Lots of…" he stops and thinks. He turns to Effie and scans his eyes over her bizarre outfit. Then he looks back to Katniss, and it's visible when he thinks of the right word for her. "Spunk!" His arm slides off her. "More than you!" He looks again to Effie and then at the crowd. Finally, he looks at the camera that is aimed right at him. He strides forward, pointing, "More than you!" Had it been any other time, any other day, I would have appreciated his challenge of the Capitol. As he is about to say more, he loses his footing and falls right off the stage.

I see Katniss choke back something. The crowd is almost able to chuckle again, but not her. It's a cry, a sob, I don't know. But as she puts her hands behind her back and stares off into the hills behind me, I know what she is thinking. We should have run. We should have taken our families and gone this morning when we still had the chance to avoid all of this. I should have convinced her that Prim and the other kids would have adjusted to the woods and been fine. But I didn't, and now we're here.

They roll a stretcher out of the crowd and place Haymitch on it as Effie moves her wig into place. "What an exciting day! But more excitement to come! It's time to choose our boy tribute!" I almost find myself hoping it's my name she pulls out. Then Katniss would be sure to come home safely. But who would take care of Prim? Or my siblings? Or our mothers? No… I can't volunteer and I can't wish my name to be reaped. Rory and Prim are not old enough to take care of the families on their own. So I watch Katniss and steel myself for the name Effie quickly pulls from the glass.

"Peeta Mellark."

I know that name from somewhere but I can't place where. A blonde stocky boy fearfully makes his way up the steps. He can tell that he is the weaker of the two contestants from our district, at least emotionally. Katniss stares blankly ahead, keeping all emotion off her face where Peeta is desperately trying to hide it and failing.

Our two tributes are given a moment of freedom as the cameras turn to the mayor as he reads the long Treaty of Treason. Katniss turns to the boy and closes her eyes. She is remembering something, something about him. I realize that I know his name through Katniss. She's mentioned him once or twice. Never anything substantial, but I can see a memory of him has clearly made her unhappy about killing him.

The mayor finishes his speech. Katniss and Peeta shake hands and the Panem anthem plays. I see Katniss steal herself, avoiding Prim, her mother and me as she looks over our heads until the anthem ends and she is ushered inside the Justice Building. I hear one of the betters behind me scoff.

"I've bought that girls game. The boy doesn't stand a chance."

Another voice laughs. "Two loaves of the baker's own bread says his son will crush her to death first!"

"You're on!"

I hate them. I hate the Capitol. And for just the shortest second, I hate Katniss for volunteering.


	2. The Goodbyes

_The Goodbyes_

"Would the family and friends of Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark please come to the front of the Justice Building?" The mayor stands up and moves to where Effie Trinket was standing. She is talking to one of the camera crew with her arms flailing wildly as she tells the poor man a story. They both head in the doors.

I make my way with Mrs. Everdeen and Prim to the stage. We wait as a Peacekeeper gives us a long speech about how we have only a few minutes to see whoever it is we came for. I notice the baker and his wife beside me, her face is cold and hard, but the man is tearing up. There are two older boys beside him and I recognize one of them, Rusk Mellark, as a boy from my class. The other looked too old to be reaped, but I stare daggers at Rusk for letting his younger brother face the Games. I put my hand on Prim's shoulder. She has no idea how lucky she is.

Another body comes up between the baker and I. It's the mayor's daughter, Madge. I have seen her with Katniss a few times, and I realize this is Katniss' only other real friend besides me. This morning, Madge angered me, the talk of her dress and looking nice for the capitol… it made me angrier than it should have. But reaping day can do that to people. Seeing her now was a relief, someone else who cares enough for Katniss to say goodbye.

I don't say anything though. I can't think of much else other than Katniss. We head up the steps and into a small waiting room lined with chairs. The Peacekeeper barks out, "Families first!"

Prim and Mrs. Everdeen hold hands as they enter through the door to a hallway and the Mellark family follow her. Now it is just me, Madge and a boy who must be Peeta's friend. Madge is fiddling with something in her hands, but I don't care to see what. I bury my face in my own hands and breathe. If anyone can win this, it's Katniss. I have never met anyone braver, faster, and more skilled than Katniss. She's determined, resourceful, and has one secret weapon that no other tribute will have. She has one thing that will make sure she survives the arena: Prim.

I have seen Katniss do more for Prim than anyone else would do for someone. She once stayed outside the fence with her bow for almost twenty four hours in the rain before Prim's birthday one year so she would not go home empty handed and Prim could eat a special meal. It took them both to nurse her back to health afterwards, but she told me that it had been worth it to see Prim's face.

It is about ten minutes later when Prim and her mother come out the door. Mrs. Everdeen looks at me and squeezes my hand before carrying Prim home. No, the next time they will see Katniss will be when she is on the other side of the screen. Peeta's family comes out of the door and heads home. I still glare at Rusk. But then I notice that the baker is not with them. They allow Peeta's friend into the room and I sit tapping my foot impatiently. He must have gone to see her or I would be allowed in by now. Family has a longer visit than friends have, but the baker is neither to Katniss. I can't imagine what he is saying. Begging her to help his son? To let him live? I don't even know.

Madge's father comes up to her and puts his hand on her shoulder. "I only managed to get you a few minutes in there, so be quick."

"I will," she responds with a fierce head shake. She holds the object in her hands so it's hidden from her father's view, and clasps her hands behind her back as she heads through the door. The baker comes through, very sullen, very sad. He looks at me and nods. He recognizes me, and I see something in him too. He is sad for many different reasons, and though he is not unkind like his wife, I see that he has resolved himself to something, something that gives me hope.

I try to think of past Hunger Games weapons. Knives, maces, swords, and sometimes bows. She needs a bow. If she has a bow… she can win this.

Finally Madge emerges and I spring from my seat. The Peacekeeper ushers me through the door and into a hallway. I am taken two doors down and turn the handle. The door opens and when I see her, I open my arms and she meets me mid-stride. For a moment, I just hold her, holding on to every feeling. I listen to her breath, I hear her speeding heart, and I feel her arms tighten around me.

I know I don't have much time. "Listen, getting a knife should be pretty easy, but you've got to get your hands on a bow. That's your best chance." I don't move away and neither does she, but I look down at her and have a horrible realization of how small and thin she is. I've been watching the Games all my life and there is always some Career tribute who is built like a mountain.

"They don't always have bows."

I had already thought of that. "Then make one. Even a weak bow is better than no bow at all."

She moves back, but stays in my arms. She looks up at me, her face terrified. I am sure mine didn't look as calm as I hoped. "I don't even know if there'll be wood." I know some of the landscapes she is thinking of and I think quickly.

"There's almost always some wood. Since that year half of them died of cold. Not much entertainment in that." I meant that in a snarky way, but then remember that she is going into this game, this deadly game that is meant to amuse the Capitol. Murder for entertainment.

She seems to understand it too, that they are just a game for the rich. "Yes, there's usually some."

I see her inner struggle. "Katniss, it's just hunting. You're the best hunter I know." And I mean it. I have never seen a better hunter, and I have never seen a Hunger Games that wasn't one great big hunt.

"It's not just hunting. They're armed. They think."

"So do you. And you've had more practice. Real practice." I'm desperate for her to find faith in herself that I am already feeling surging up inside. "You know how to kill."

"Not people," she counters.

I think for a second before looking right into her eyes. "How different can it be, really?"

She struggles with the idea, but I can see that she understands the truth in it. Then the door whips open and a Capitol Peacekeeper enters. I feel my eyes widen in alarm.

"Just another minute?"

"Time's up," the Peacekeeper grabs me by the arm and yanks me toward the door. I grasp for Katniss' hand and she holds on tight. I can't do this, I can't let her go. I begin to panic as our grip slips.

"Don't let them starve!" she cries out.

"I won't! You know I won't! Katniss, remember I—"

I can't finish my words because the Peacekeeper finally breaks our hold and throws me into the hallway, slamming the door behind him. I stare at the closed door, my breathing uneven and I reach for the handle once more. Then I feel the stinging of his hand across my face.

I am escorted outside and left alone on the steps of the Justice Building. I turn and try the doors once more, but they are locked. With a cry of frustration, I slam my fist into the concrete wall, leaving no mark but for the one on my knuckle.

I can't go home and celebrate with Katniss like we'd planned. I can't go home to see my own siblings as they sigh in relief that I made it through all my years of the reaping without ever getting called. And I certainly can't go to Mrs. Everdeen and Prim. Instead, I go to the only place I know I can: the woods.

_A/N: From here on out we don't get Katniss' view on home so now it's going to be less of the stuff we already have seen in the book! WOOHOO! Okay hahaha! Let me know what you think!_


	3. The Tribute Parade

_The Tribute Parade_

When I head home, it is already late. I had passed some time by hunting and setting a few snares which caught me a squirrel and hefty turkey. They are tied to my belt and I sell the squirrel at the Hob, but I bring the turkey home. I need to keep my promise to Katniss. I won't let them starve. But I have my own family too, and I bring this turkey for them.

When I arrive home, my mother gives me a big hug and I hold her for a long time. I no longer feel that Katniss will die in the arena, she knows what to do, how to hunt, how to kill, but I can't help but be nervous, to shake when I think of her out there. I wonder what she's doing now, but when I look and see the lit up screen in the background, I know. The recaps of the reaping throughout the districts is on, just starting as I lay my kill on the table and sit down.

My mother starts to pick off the feathers and I protest, but it falls short when the girl from District 1 is reaped. She is called Glimmer, a stupid name for a stupid looking girl. She looks so happy to have been called to the stage and when asked if there were volunteers, she said she would not want to give up her spot, much to the dismay of some of the others in the crowd. Katniss could easily take her. She looked happy to have been reaped, but she is too vain looking, not smart enough, not strong enough. Then the boy is reaped. He doesn't look like he wanted his name called, but many others end up volunteering and after some long process that was mostly skipped over on this recap, a boy named Marvel is chosen. Anyone named Marvel is going to lose the games. He has nearly no neck, and a long body that makes him look just too disproportionate.

Then District 2 is on the screen and the girl who volunteers is a terrifying little monster. Her eyes are narrow and she looks like she is ready to start the games then and there. The boy is no better, he pushes his way to the stage to volunteer and intimidates the officials into letting him be the tribute. Cato and Clove, the ones I'd say Katniss would be up against at the end. I'd like to see them kill each other just to rid the world of two clear killers. The announcers are already betting on these two as well. I pay close attention to the two other Careers from District 4 but the more I watch, the more I can see that Katniss has the odds in her favor. The boy from District 10 even has a limp and I can't even imagine him running for his life.

Then the District 11 girl is reaped. She looks Rory and Prim's age, this must have been her first reaping. When no one volunteers for her, I think again of Katniss and I know that she won't kill this little girl, she's shy and small, like Prim. But then the boy, Thresh, is reaped and I am almost scared myself. He must be 6'5" or close to it, and he is huge. His muscles are bulging and next to the small girl Rue, I feel like he is a giant. They shake hands and I'm afraid for that girl too.

The announcers, Claudius Templesmith, the main announcer for the games in particular, each quiet each other down with their hands as Effie shows up on the screen. She pulls Prim's name and the camera finds Prim in the crowd and zooms in on her face. Another camera shows Katniss' reaction. I bury my face in my hands, not wanting to watch as Katniss volunteers for her sister. There is a close up of Prim holding Katniss and then I carry her off to her mother. The announcers cut in with their voice over, talking about how sad it is to see the little girl react like that. Then they applaud Katniss for her bravery. Peeta's name is drawn and the reaping ends.

"Remember," chimes Caesar Flickerman, "Tomorrow is the annual Tribute parade! We will see our tributes represent their district before they head off to training. I love the parade, always so flashy and—"

I stand up, content to ignore Caesar. I'll have to watch the parade in school tomorrow when we have to analyze the outfits and see how it represents the district they are from.

"Gale?" asks Rory, my little brother. I've never had to think about volunteering for him because next year, when he turns 12 and has his name in for the first time, I won't be eligible for the Hunger Games anymore. Looking at his face, a very close version of what I looked like at his age, I believe I would have volunteered if his name were ever called. But I really don't know and it doesn't matter anymore because it will never happen. "Are you okay?"

I smile at him and mess up his hair because I know he hates it. "I will be. It's just been a bad day."

"Will Prim be okay?" he asks. They have been very close the past few years, a surprise really since they are almost exact opposites. The only trait I can think of that they share is their compassion.

"She will be too. But they will need us to be there for them during the games and after too, no matter what the outcome is. Mom, I know how busy you are but if you ever have a minute…"

"I'll check in with her more than usual. I promise you, Gale. I know she is your family and we always help our families." Hazelle Hawthorne, my mother, worn down by four children and endless work, is always up for another challenge. Her heart is too big to only have us in it. She has always treated Katniss like a daughter, like Katniss' mom treats me like a son.

I can't stand anymore, today takes its toll on me and I am the first one in asleep. I wake up again and again in the night, dreams of the arena and of Katniss. Sometimes there are trees for her to hide in, sometimes it is a desert where every tribute is always visible to the others. When I finally wake for good the next morning, I change into clean clothes and walk with Rory and Vick to school.

"I don't see Prim," whispers Rory as we are about to part ways.

"I wouldn't count on seeing her today. She may come in tomorrow. No go to class." I don't blame Prim. I wish I could have avoided school today, but since there is a mandatory viewing of the Tribute Parade, they would have found out if I wasn't here. When I go into class and sit down, I see Peeta's brother also take his seat. Prim is probably at home wishing her sister was walking her to school, while Rusk here is barely flinching.

As the classes go on, I find myself waiting for noon, when the Parade will happen. It will give the betters their first real look at the tributes. It also will show Katniss.

Finally, the loud tone goes off and everyone turns to the screens. The projections show three different views, one of the entryway where the tributes will come from, one with Caesar and the Head Gamemaker Seneca Crane sitting at an table where they watch the parade from above. You can see the large Capitol audience behind them. Disgusting. The whole thing makes me sick, and if Katniss wasn't a tribute, I would be daydreaming like I do every year.

Caesar claps his hands together. "I'm so excited, citizens of Panem! Here with us today are over 10,000 of you just craning to get a glimpse of this year's tributes! Sponsors will get their first view of the tibutes today. The importance of this moment cannot be overstated! With me to get things going while the final touches are going on is Head game maker Seneca Crane! Tell me Seneca, how are the tributes looking so far?"

"It's hard to tell just from a reaping, but I think we have a pretty interesting mix."

"And what will you be looking for when you host the training scores?"

Crane thought for a second. "I think we would like to see something we've never seen before. But of course, we are always looking for strength, skill, and just all kinds of talent."

"Thank you, Seneca. Alright! It looks like the tributes are about to enter! Thank you Seneca Crane, we look forward to hearing from you again! Let's take a look behind me…"

The first horse-drawn chariot comes out and they are in spray-painted silver glittering outfits. Their two names show at the bottom of the screen. Glimmer again, _I wonder where her parents got the idea for her name_, I think sarcastically. All the while, Caesar is cheering to his other side where Claudius Templesmith is again. Then District 2 comes out dressed like gladiators and stare at the crowd with fierce expressions. There is a close up of their face and the girl is smiling, but it is almost sadistic. The other chariots go by and, except for District 4, the other Careers, there aren't too many faces that can even feign happiness.

"What? What is that?" Caesar asks. I look to his screen and there is a glow in the entry way. Then the camera shows Katniss and Peeta… on fire. The class begins to murmur behind me. Normally our tributes are dressed as coal miners. But this, this is something I've never seen. Katniss looks incredible. Her hair is done up the way she had it for the reaping, but the flames lite up around her, clearly not burning her, and trail down their capes leaving a smoke-less trail of fire behind them. The flames illuminate her face in the dimmed down lighting. It's amazing. I can see Katniss and Peeta holding hands. None of the other tributes hold hands. She begins to lok more confident, smiling and blowing kisses to screaming fans. The crowd is shouting her and Peeta's names.

"Yes! That's what I like to see!" shouts Caesar, "Two tributes saying I'm proud to represent my district! I'm proud to be from District 12!"

The chariots stop around President Snow and the camera briefly moves to him as he reads his welcoming speech. The camera does a round of focusing on each tribute, but lingers on Katniss and Peeta. And just then I know that Katniss, the girl on fire as Caesar called her, can truly win the games.

_A/N: I changed the time of the tribute parade for this to show that the schools show the events when they are on. Other than that, there may be a little more time between chapters now that I'm not on spring break, but as usual, let me know what you thought of this chapter!_


	4. The Scores

_The Scores_

It's nearly dusk on Sunday when I haul my load back inside the fence of District 12. Katniss and I usually spend Sunday's together, laughing and forgetting some of the trials life has given us. Today it is only a reminder of her. Being in the woods, hunting, gathering, It reminds me of the Capitol and what they've done. It reminds me of what they can do to us, and what we haven't been brave enough to do to them.

I look like a strange kind of creature when I walk to the hob. I have two rabbits in my hand for the Hob, a sack of herbs for Mrs. Everdeen slung around my waist, three squirrels hanging from my belt and a fat turkey in my other hand.

I already know who likes what so I bring my turkey to Cray. He stands in the corner of the Hob, watching young girls walk by with a disturbing amount of interest. He pays me well though; he may be Head Peacekeeper, but he likes to eat and I know where to get his favorites. So I don't interfere with his life as long as Katniss and I can go outside the fence to hunt. I have too many mouths to feed, especially now, to even consider criticizing him.

I take the three squirrels to Greasy Sae today. I can see her already mixing some kind of stew together and as soon as I give her the squirrels, she smiles a toothless smile and puts the stew into a rather large bucket, much more than I pay for, and nods at me, encouraging me to take it and not complain. I slide a coin over, but she slides it back to me.

"I'll pay you back for it when you're not looking you know," I warn her with a grin.

"And then I'll do the same thing another time and then it will keep going…you know." Her laugh is broken, like a cackle, but nowhere near sinister.

Then I hear the booming voice of Caesar Flickerman and the loud horns of the music that plays as his talk show begins. This is the night the training scores are revealed. As I look at the screen, Katniss may be in the room showing off her hunting skills, shooting a bow. I think back to old games in my head and I can recall some boy who had a bow in an arena. I think he started the games off with a seven. The betting really begins tonight and a seven would be a great start for Katniss to get sponsors. Sometimes the kids in our district get a six or seven, but mostly they are just underfed Seam kids who don't have the strength to fight and may get a four or five. The careers get between eight and ten and I have only ever seen a few elevens. I don't think there has ever been a twelve, or if there has I don't remember, it isn't common enough.

I know Mrs. Everdeen won't cook tonight which is why I got the stew. And tonight she won't sleep… none of us will, especially not Katniss. Mrs. Everdeen has been strong for Prim, but every now and then, when no one is looking, I'll see her staring off into space again, blank eyed and gone off into the distance. She has been through so much. First, like my father and countless others, her husband was killed in the mines. But then, her twelve year old, maybe one of the most innocent people on the planet, is reaped in a match to the death. Normally, that is the end… they steel themselves for the loss. But Katniss volunteers and Prim is safe. Should she feel grateful? Or does she wish Katniss hadn't volunteered? She can't win unless Katniss does.

"If I were a betting woman," mutters Greasy Sae, "I'd put my money on her."

"Me too." I thank Greasy Sae again and turn to leave when I nearly run over one of the last people I'd ever expect to see in the Hob: Madge. As the black market of the district, seeing the mayor's daughter in here is almost taboo. Then I notice that everyone is looking at us, her really. I stare at her and she stares back.

"Hi," she finally says and then goes quiet. I nod a courteous hello but say nothing.

I am almost ready to just walk by her now. It is almost too awkward to function through. But then I really realize that she has probably never even been in here before. "You looking for someone?" I ask as I look for who is in here that she may want to see.

She shifts around with her hands behind her. "I was actually looking for you. I have a favor to ask. Could you tell me where the Everdeen's house is? I have something for each of them."

I look back at the screen where Caesar is laughing. "I'm headed there myself. I can bring you. I just need to pick up my brother first. It's on the way."

"Thank you, Gale." She eyes my belt with the two dead rabbits hanging.

I almost start to laugh, but it doesn't seem right to laugh at this girl, so I clear my throat instead. "I'm dropping those off, don't worry."

She smiles and says nothing again. I wave goodbye to Greasy Sae who is still watching me and then I head out with Madge beside me.

Some people eye Madge with suspicion. She is not someone who would normally be in the Seam and everyone knows who she is. We get to my house quickly and I invite her inside. My mother is surprised to see her and I explain why she is here while I hand my mother the rabbits and stew. She takes a few helpings out for her, Posy and Vick. Then I go into the bedroom and grab Rory so we can head over.

"Why can't I come too?" asks Vick.

I bend down and put my hand on his shoulder. "You need to keep mom some company and help her take care of Posy, right?" He nods and sits at the table with a pouty look as we leave.

I keep hold of Rory as we head through the crowded paths. Most people are headed to the square to watch the scores. It's a mandatory viewing too so it will be on every screen no matter where you go, why not make an outing of it? It frustrates me to no end.

I knock on the door and Prim answers. I'm glad I decided to bring Rory because her nervous demeanor changes when he goes into the house. He is energetic and pretty funny when you listen to him, always able to make someone smile. Then Mrs. Everdeen comes over.

"Madge? What a surprise. How are you?"

"I'm doing well. How have you been doing?" It's clear she isn't just asking to be polite.

"I've had better days, but my daughters are both alive today and for that I am grateful. How can I help you, dear?"

She pulls a bag from behind her back that I hadn't even noticed. "I was at the bakery today and Mr. Mellark asked me to get this to you." She pulls out a giant loaf of fresh bread, expensive and still warm, my mouth almost starts drooling at the sight. Then she takes out two cookies. "And I bought these for Prim. I just wanted to let you know that we are all here for you, and rooting for Katniss."

"Madge," gasps Mrs. Everdeen, "This is too much. Don't you spend your money on us, we're fine. And tell Mr. Mellark thank you the next time you see him. This was beyond what he should have done."

"I just wanted you to know," she smiles.

"Thank you, hon. Do you want to stay for food and the training scores?"

Madge shakes her head. "I have to get back home, I know the way now. But thank you for the offer."

She waves goodbye and we call the kids so the four of us sit at the table as we divided up the food. We don't tell them about the cookie yet, but we decide to give half of one to Prim and the other half to Rory and the other cookie can be split between Vick and Posy, who has never had one. We dunk the bread in the stew broth as we watch Caesar in his overdramatic voice and insane outfit talk about the tributes so far. It's brief, what district they came from, and what costumes they wore at the parade. Then he talks about Katniss and Peeta, again calling her the Girl on Fire. Then he gasps as someone obviously tells him that the scores are in.

Prim's cat, Buttercup, rubs up against my leg. I look down as it stares at the screen. "You miss your Catnip too?" I whisper. As if it heard me, Buttercup hisses and jumps up on Prim.

"My friends," he begins, "the training scores are in. I don't know about you, but I cannot wait another second! So without delay, let us see the scores! From District 1," a picture of the boy appears on the screen and behind Caesar's head with his name below it and a blank space for the score, "Marvel with a score of 9!" The nine filled up the screen dramatically as it shrunk back down to fit in its space. Then the girl's picture and name appeared. "And also from District 1: Glimmer with a score of… 8!" The two from District 2 got 10's, unsurprisingly, and the other careers had scores of eight. There weren't too many outstanding ones until District 11.

"Thresh with a score of… 10! Amazing! And from District 11 also is Rue with a score of… 7!" I wondered what the little girl could have done for a seven. Then Peeta's face was on the screen. I could imagine the baker who gave us this bread sitting with his wife and sons anxiously awaiting this score.

"From District 12 we have Peeta with a score of… 8!" I sigh. I remember him being on some sport team so he must have used that skill to get his score. And then I lean forward. The four of us are silent. I find myself holding my breath and then I feel a hand in my own. Mrs. Everdeen is squeezing my hand so tight it begins to turn white. "And finally, last but certainly not least, from District 12: Katniss with a score of… 11! An eleven! The highest score of the games to the Girl on Fire! Whew! This has—" We stop listening to Caesar and sit in silence still.

Prim is the first to break it, her tears are streaming down her face, but this time, she is smiling. "She got an eleven! She got the highest score! She's the best one there! Katniss is going to win! You know she can win!"

In the distance, I can hear the faintest sounds of cheering from the square. I can tell the betting has begun and Katniss has moved up in everyone's eyes. There are sponsors in the Capitol, rich maniacs who will be rooting for her and even put money towards her. Then I find myself letting go of my breath. I squeeze Mrs. Everdeen's hand and she nods to me. I can see a change in her; she sits up straight, and smiles. Hope.


	5. The Interview

_The Interview_

_I wish the first time I had suggested the idea I had made Katniss go. Nothing would have happened to her, to Prim, to my siblings. "We should run away," I had said only half in jest…"I wish" she'd replied._

"Gale, wake up. Mom wants you to wake up. The interviews start in an hour. Are we heading over early again?" Rory sits beside me on the bed as I groggily rub my eyes and stretch out.

"Are you sure you want to come today? You'll be there for the next two days. You should get some homework done so you don't forget and have a little bit of fun. Play catch with Vick tonight, he'd love that."

I grab a clean shirt and throw it on and pull on my boots. Rory sits beside me, clearly enticed by the thought of playing catch instead of watching the interview. It's mandatory viewing again, so they will hear it from wherever they are. The peacekeepers won't say anything to them. I give my mom a kiss on the cheek and thank her again as I head out the door. This time, I take the long route to their house. I already ate at home and we have food ready or tomorrow. We are all going to cram into the Everdeen house; my mom wants to be there to help for the day.

I take my time, kicking a rock along with me. Tomorrow is it. I feel only tightness in my chest and a nauseous feeling in my stomach as I walk. I try taking deep breaths, but it doesn't really help. So I finally make my way to the Everdeen house. Buttercup is sitting outside guarding the door and I nearly step on it.

"Hi Gale," Mrs. Everdeen mutters as she cleans up some bowls.

"Want me to finish that?" I ask. I eye Prim in the bedroom staring at something in her hand.

"No, no, thank you but you have done enough. Prim! Could you please put the last few shirts away? Are your mom and siblings still okay to come over tomorrow?"

I nod. "Yeah, they've got some food prepared for everyone for lunch already."

She sighs and puts down the towel that she had been twisting in her hands. "I don't know if I'll be able to eat tomorrow."

"You don't have to, but it will be there if you want it. I'll take Prim's goat milk to the Hob tonight after the interviews and again tomorrow night when some of the venders open up. You don't need to worry about those things."

"Thank you. I mean it, Gale. Thank you."

"You know how much you guys mean to me. You're family. This is what families do. You don't have to thank me."

"I know Katniss sleeps better knowing that you're around. You need to take care of yourself too, your eyes are bloodshot. I can give you a tea leaf to help you sleep tonight."

"Thanks. I could use it tonight for sure. You should have some too so you will sleep through."

She smiled, "I believe I will."

When we all pull the chair up to the screen, Caesar, dressed in a bizarre suit covered in lightbulbs, is already joking and talking about the excitement of the interviews and the start of the 74th Hunger Games. I see shadows in the background of the raised circular stage where Caesar takes his spoon-shaped seat and calls down Glimmer.

She wears a see-through gold dress that makes me glad I let Rory stay home. It's clear that she is being portrayed this way to get sponsors, but I think it makes her look weak. She grins and laughs as Caesar comments on the dress and her determination to win the Games. After all, she didn't let anyone volunteer for her. But I can't see her as a threat to Katniss when she stands up after her interview and skips off the stage innocently, but also with a not-so-subtle subtext. There is a light that goes on above her as she takes her seat in the arch of tributes despite the others remaining in the dark.

I strain to see Katniss. I want to talk to her, to tell her what I can see. Clove is sadistic and proud of it. When Caesar asks how badly she wants to win, she replies that she'd kill her own mother for the honor of winning. I can tell she isn't lying, despite the innocent laugh that she tries after she speaks. Cato is too confident, his downfall will be in his arrogance. Rue, the little girl who I know must remind Katniss of Prim is sweet when she talks.

"I'm very hard to catch. And if they can't catch me, they can't kill me. So don't count me out."

I hope it doesn't work out as well as she'd like. Katniss would never kill this girl if it came down to the two of them. And I instantly regret my thoughts. I stand and walk behind the table, needing a moment of the air near the door hitting my face. I run my hands over my face. _What have I become?_ I wonder. I just wished for someone to kill this innocent 12 year old. I let out a long breath. I want Katniss to win, of course, but how can I support her while not supporting the games. I want 23 children to die so Katniss can live. I shudder as I suddenly feel like a member of the Capitol. And I hate myself for it.

When I go back over, they are finishing with Thresh from District 11 and calling Katniss. The lights go up on her as she heads down the steps to Caesar. The camera jumps to the audience as they are clapping, making noises of approval for what I assume is her outfit. Then the camera is back on her and I can see why.

Every step she takes, the light hits her dress and reflects off small expensive stones, thousands of them, red, yellow, white and even blue on the edges. Her every move gives the impression of live flames and danger. Her skin is smooth and sparkling. There is light bouncing off her skin too now, and her eyes are made big and bold by Capitol makeup. There are colors weaved into her braided hair and her lips are fiery red.

"She looks beautiful," murmurs Prim.

"Yeah, she does…" I find myself whispering back.

Caesar is yelling about the Girl on Fire as she makes her way to the seat. I swallow hard and watch one of the screens of the audience as they go crazy. She's sure makes an impression, even more than Glitter or whatever her name is. Caesar takes her hand as she sits and stared into the audience. She is looking for someone, someone I can only assume is Haymitch.

"So Katniss, the Capitol must be quite a change from District Twelve. What's impressed you most since you arrived here?" She opens her mouth, but no words come out. Her eyes flit back to the giggling audience before she turns to Caesar. "What's impressed you mist since you arrived here?"

She thinks for a second before almost shrugging. "The lamb stew." The audience roars, as does Caesar.

"The one with the dried plums? Oh I eat it by the bucketful! It doesn't show, does it?" He has a way with the audience, turning her three word response into something that got the audience loving every second. "Now Katniss, when you came out in the opening ceremonies, my heart actually stopped. What did you think of that costume?"

_What does that have to do with the Games? How will that question get her sponsors?_

"I'm sure he has a reason, Gale." I glance over to Mrs. Everdeen and realize I'd spoken out loud. Her face is kind, but she is worried that I'm right.

"You mean after I got over my fear of being burned alive?"

I laugh. It reminds me of how she talks to me in the woods, open and honest, and never holding back. I lean back in my seat and watch her as she talks about her dress and her stylist. She looks like she's uncomfortable, but the more the audience laughs, the more relaxed she becomes. Then she stands and spreads out the dress making the crowd applaud for her. But then she spins around and it's silent. Her entire body looks like it's been engulfed in flames and the more she twirls, the higher the flames rise. Then the crowd roars and I can't even hear Caesar.

"Wow," mutters Prim to herself. I take a deep breath and lean toward the screen as Katniss leans against Caesar giggling.

"Don't stop!" he says.

"I have to, I'm dizzy!"

"Don't worry, I've got you. Can't have you following in your mentor's footsteps." One screen turns to Haymitch falling off the District 12 stage at the Reaping and the other shows him waving the camera away. I find myself wondering if that really _will _be Katniss one day. If the games will turn her into a drunk as the only to escape any memories she'll have. I hope not… but if she wins it won't be because she hid through the whole thing. That's not her.

"It's all right, she's safe with me. So, how about that training score. E-le-ven," he emphasizes every syllable, "Give us a hint what happened in there." I wonder myself too, her skills with a bow are beyond average but do they really have the equipment in the training room to show that all off?

"Um… all I can say, is I think it was a first." The camera zooms in on the game makers in the front row and they nod and laugh. I look over at Mrs. Everdeen and she shakes her head at me, no ideas on what might have happened.

She talks to the people who are about to try killing her about her scores and if she can reveal them. They say no and Caesar sobers up after. "Let's go back to the moment they called your sister's name at the reaping and you volunteered. Can you tell us about her?"

They show Katniss rushing forward with no sound on one screen and all the following events as Katniss speaks. She looks to the audience and her eyes focus on something. "Her name's Prim. She's just twelve. And I love her more than anything."

Mrs. Everdeen wraps her arms around the back of Prim. She is being brave, much stronger than I thought.

"What did she say to you? After the reaping?" She looks over into the camera for a moment before back to the focus point she has. It was like she was looking straight at Prim.

"She asked me to try really hard to win."

"And what did you say?"

I see something change in Katniss. She is resolved, determined, and fierce, like the flames she wears. "I swore I would."

Caesar starts ushering Katniss off the stage and back to her lit up seat. Prim turns to me, her face just as determined as her sister's. "She _will _win. I know it."

We listen to Peeta during his interview. He's funny, likeable. He talks about bread a lot and then he and Caesar are sniffing each other. Then they are talking about the girls in District 12 and I can imagine that some of them might be thinking Peeta is talking about them. But then I really can't figure out what he means when he says, "Winning… won't help in my case."

"Why ever not?"

"Because… because… she came here with me."

I feel myself cringe back into my chair. I swallow another glob of spit down my throat where it will barely go down. Mrs. Everdeen looks more surprised than anyone, her mouth hangs open and she was barely even holding Prim anymore.

The camera shows Katniss as she realizes he means her. She looks like a mirror of her mother, her eyes narrowed in an almost angry way. She hides her red face by looking down.

They try to talk over the roaring crowd but I only hear midway through, "Well, I don't think any of us can blame you. It's be hard not to fall for that young lady." I stop listening. The cameras are showing Katniss blushing. Did she even know this guy before? Did she like him? And as the audience roared and clapped, I stand up and excuse myself. Yet again I find myself wishing another person dies in the games.

A/N: This chapter was a bit longer than usual. I got a bit carried away but this was also the chapter I was dreading because I wasn't sure if this was how Gale would react. So let me know your thoughts! Thanks for reading!


	6. The Games

_The Games_

"Gale! Mom said it's time for you to get up. She said to let you sleep today but the Games are starting soon."

I throw the blanket off of me and rub my eyes as I listen to my brother's commotion in the next room. "What time is it?"

"It's almost 9:00. We are headed over to the Everdeen's soon. The announcers already started broadcasting."

I run my hands over my face. "Thanks, Rory. Go on ahead; I'll meet you guys there." He nods at me and I hear the door close a few moments later. My body falls back onto the bed as heavily as the dear Katniss is always so keen to shoot. For a while, I just lay there. I don't want to move, to change, to eat. I just want to go to Katniss. I want her here in District 12 safely on the other side of the screen. I hear Caesar's voice coming from the other room where the Hunger Games will not be turned off until the end. I am sick of hearing about the girl on fire. The girl on fire whose father blew up in a mine explosion with my father… I'm sure that sits well with her. And the star-crossed love that she and Peeta apparently share despite the grand total of no conversations that they have ever had.

It takes everything I have to get up and change. My feet drag under me as I attempt to walk to the Everdeen's. I see their house, I hear the Games blaring through everyone's broken glass windows or through their open doors. There is a cool breeze that makes the summer bearable. It goes in through my nose and I get a chill, despite the heat. It feels good. It numbs me for a moment. Which is why I barely even notice that I walk right by the Everdeen home and straight to the hole in the fence. When I come back to my senses, I am clear into the woods and the Games must be ready to begin.

I tell my legs to head back, to be there for Prim and her mom, to make sure my brothers aren't scarred by watching, to see that my mom has the strength to take care of everyone including herself… but I don't move toward the fence; I walk away from it.

I find myself on a hill, one that I know too well. It's the place of my last happy memory, a time that seems like so long ago yet has nearly been a week. Katniss and I sat here on the morning of the Reaping, deciding how to ration the food for dinner that night. But she never ate it.

The rising sun is high in the sky and I lay back in the grass and watch as it rises higher and higher. The Games are starting now, if they haven't already. I feel myself shudder. Any moment from now on could be the last for Katniss. She could be dead already. I don't believe that. In my head, I count with the rhythm of my pounding heart. It matches the countdown timer until the tributes can get off their platforms. I hear Claudius Templesmith chime out in his high pitched voice, "Ladies and gentlemen, let the Seventy-fourth Hunger Games begin!" as the tributes begin killing each other for the weapons in the Cornucopia. I pinch my eyes together trying to get the image out of my mind but I can't. Instead, I see her, reaching out for the bow before her blood splatters over the hidden camera as a career sneaks in behind her before she even has the chance to prove herself, to show that she _can_ survive.

Hours pass and the sun quickly sets in the sky. It darkens earlier than it has, or so it seems. I know I have to head back and face whatever happened today. The main action for the day should be over and they will be replaying every death from a thousand angles, analyzing odds based on strength, kill brutality and speed. I finally make the decision to go back.

When I get back into the District, I see a Peacekeeper watching me, like he knew where I had been, but he says nothing and soon looks away. It doesn't bother me. Let him arrest me. Let him punish me for not wanting to watch my best friend be killed.

I don't know that I can face it. I see the Everdeen house and it makes me stop short. What do I do if they tell me she died? And when I see Rory rush out the door and run to me, my heart freezes mid-beat.

"She's alive, Gale! She made it!"

The words are garbled in my ears. He repeats them several times as he drags me into the house by my wrist. I enter the door and see the smiling faces all watching me. This must be a dream, never have I seen them so happy.

"What happened?" I ask, still dumbstruck.

My mom grabs my shoulder. "She's alright, she's in the woods now."

"The woods?" I ask. I turn to the screen and sure enough, the arena is a giant forest. Caesar and Claudius are examining a map with tags indicating where the tributes are. There are some streams and rivers and even a lake scattered through the map, woods surrounding an entire open field in the center with the Cornucopia, and a wheat field that only has one tag in it. I see Katniss' picture moving along through the trees, fairly separate from a majority of the Tributes.

"Now!" yells Caesar, much too excited for whatever it was that he was going to say, "Let's see a recap of the main events. We have the opening ceremony where eleven of our brave competitors lost their lives. While Districts 6, 7, and 9 have all been eliminated, it was District 9's Mur who took last place this year. Let's take a look at that."

The screen cuts to the boy Mur on his platform. The gong rings and he takes off toward an obnoxious neon orange backpack. At the same time, to my horror, Katniss reaches the pack. They struggle with it before boy tries to swing at her, but she rips the pack out of his hands in the process. Then the boy spews blood all over Katniss' face as he coughs and falls to his knees and dies. The camera zooms to the menace Clove from District 2 as she aims another knife at Katniss. Katniss slips the backpack on and uses it to shield her head as she sprints toward the woods. I see her step falter as the knife hits the pack, but she takes off and Clove doesn't follow her. The camera shows Katniss one last time with a small grin on her face as she reaches the tree line.

"Wow," cuts in Caesar as I find the air in my lungs again, "What a way to open the Games. Let's take a look at the rest of the departed tributes."

We watch as 10 more tributes are killed. Some put up a fight, most are just slaughtered by the careers. There is a tally off to the side with who killed who so far. Both tributes from District One and Two each killed two others. Thresh had one kill, the District 4 female Career, Coi, had a kill, and so did District 5's male, Luxon.

Caesar is back on the screen again after the highlights are done. "In other exciting events, there seems to be a Career pack forming. We can see Glimmer and Marvel of District 1, Cato and Clove of District 2, Coi of District 4, and the surprising additions of Atias from District 3, an alliance that seems to have been formed back during training, and the most surprising moment when Peeta Mellark of District 12 joined. Let's take a look at that once more, I love watching this on replay."

My mouth hangs open as I glance around the room. None of them are surprised or disgusted. Even Caesar, Mr. Girl-On-Fire, Star-crossed lovers is 'loving this.'

The pack has already formed and ready to start hunting tributes. They leave District 3 behind to start digging something and eventually, Peeta runs out in front of them. He is unarmed, no pack or anything. The stupidly named Glimmer aims an arrow at him. _The bow… Katniss' bow_, I think bitterly. He holds his hands up in submission.

"I know you want to kill me," he says as the pack agrees with him, "But there is one thing that we have in common. We both want to kill Katniss, the girl from 12."

Clove scoffs and plays with a knife in her hand. "Right, Lover-Boy, you want to kill your little girlfriend?"

He looked away from them toward the ground. "She's not my girlfriend. We talked last night… she turned me down. I don't want to get into it, but I can't believe I ever thought I loved her. I remember her from years ago, sweet and innocent… but what she said was nothing like that. I want her dead. I want her to know what it feels to have her heart ripped out like she ripped mine. The only problem is that I need help."

Marvel was grinning like an idiot, a snort-like laugh escaping. "And what good are you to us?"

"I trained with her. I know how good she is and what her skills are. She is a hunter, I know her traps; she showed me back in training. I can track her."

This time, the monster from District 1, Cato, laughed. "Is that all? How'd she get the 11? You spill it all ad we might have a working partnership in the making."

They talked for a while as they walked, the replay cut through most of it until they headed back to the Cornucopia with Peeta and gave him a knife for the night. As he sat alone staring at the woods, he whispered, "I promise Katniss, I'll keep them away from you."

It was clearly for the cameras since it would have been stupid for him to say it near the careers at all. But he turned back around and joined them again before the camera was on Caesar again. He is wiping tears out of his eyes.

"If that isn't devotion, I don't know what is!" The screen showed the two cameras side by side, Katniss strapping herself into a tall tree, and Peeta falling asleep with the knife gripped tightly in his hands.

"Do you think any of that is real?" I ask my mom as she hands me a plate of food.

She shrugs. "We shall see. Let the 74th Hunger Games begin."

_A/N: Sorry it's been so long. I had to finish up school: lots of papers for my finals. Then I just finished this semester of work and then there is so much stuff to do for a ton of things coming up so again, sorry. I will be on much more to finish this story sooner rather than later, but nonetheless, thanks for reading and as always, let me know what you thought!_


	7. The Fire

_The Fire_

Watching Katniss starve to death may be worse than watching her be killed instantly. Yesterday, I watched as the girl from District 8, Wenda, nearly got Katniss killed. She sat for hours warm by her fire, Katniss frozen in place the entire time just an arrow shot away. The Career pack had been able to see the plumes of smoke from her fire though. She had been fast asleep when Cato grabbed her by the hair and wrenched her up. She pleaded with him, tried to talk about her family, but he didn't care. He shoved a sword through her stomach as she screamed one final time. She lied there, twitching in a fit of endless suffering as Cato and his pack scavenge her things and walked away.

That was when Katniss realized Peeta was a Career. I still wasn't sure what his game was at that point, but I knew his story about Katniss and him fighting had been a lie when Katniss nearly fell out of the tree when she saw Peeta. One screen had shown Peeta going back to the girl to finish the kill quickly while the other was showing Katniss listening to the gossiping Careers. She fell to the ground when they were cone and smiled, like she knew exactly what Peeta was doing. I know her better than that. She is well aware that she is in the Games.

There was so much going on in the second day that they couldn't show it all. Apparently Peeta had shown some skill with the knife to keep in the Career's favor. They mostly aired what the other tributes were doing to find food or shelter. Some found water, the little girl, Rue, waited above a pool of water after she collected a few berries to eat. She sat in the tree branches, watching everyone walking below like an Owl watching a mouse run through the grass. There was another girl, the one from 5, Finch, who was an expert at staying right where the others couldn't see her. She stole some food from the Cornucopia when they went to hunt to the others and then she took off and hasn't really been on the screen much since. Finch looks like an animal, her face is long and her hair is orange, like a fox. She blends into the surroundings easily.

Today, Katniss is pale, slow, and groggy. She is soaked in sweat as she treks through the woods. I sat through the entire school day watching her do nothing but wander the woods, clutching her side and rubbing at her dry tongue. Peeta, on the other hand, drinks away at the lake he and the other Careers claimed before they set off again looking for more tributes to kill. By the time I brought dinner home from the Hob though, she had a change of luck. She is swimming in a small pond with her water jug filled. She drinks two gallons and feasts in the tree she's strapped into. The others are either in the same dire situation as she was, or have already found their go-to water source. One tribute had a sponsor send them some water, someone from the Environmental Council, I think. I didn't care. I went to bed happy.

Until now.

The loud sound from the other room of the screen turning on meant something big was happening and the Capitol wanted everyone to watch as another tribute died, no matter the time. Rory and Vick shoot up and I hear Posy let out a startled cry. My mother comforts her as she rushes with us toward the screen. I know before I get there that it's Katniss. They wouldn't have woken us at 4am if it had been any other district, and Peeta is with the Careers.

We reach the screen in time to see Katniss jump down from a tree as a massive wall of fire closes in around her. She just moves away from a falling branch on fire as she heaves the pack on her shoulder and follows the route the animals with much keener senses takes. But she runs into smaller branches that cut her face, and she looks down to avoid all the upraised roots that hide in the ground, and soon, the smoke hides the rest of the trace of them. She holds her shirt over her nose to give her some air. Air is something I do not have myself either as I watch her duck and dodge falling debris and gasp in the small patches of clean air left in the forest for a solid five minutes. The cameras only cut away once or twice to show tributes reacting to the plumes of smoke in the distance. Some are close by and run as far as they can as the Gamemakers heard the tributes like sheep, but only Katniss is caught deep within the woods.

When the camera is back on her, she doesn't quite clear a jump over a log on fire and glances behind her at the wall closing in. She rips off the jacket and tosses it on the ground, kicking the dirt on it and stomping out the worst of the flame before tossing it in her pack and running again. Each breath she takes is painful and clearly taking all the air she has left. She ducks down behind a large rock and doubles over, clutching her chest as she vomits. She is shaking violently and coughing, retching, but nothing is left to come up.

I find myself mirroring her. My breath has all but left me and I clutch the table for support as though it is the last thread of my life. I can feel my mother's eyes on me as I too start to shake. I clench my teeth and stare at the screen as anger begins to flood through me. The Capitol wants her dead, and they always get what they want. If she survives the fire, they'll send the other Tributes her way. If they would show the map, I'm sure that there are already a few headed in her direction.

She gathers her things together before looking around for the clearest path. When she looks like she'd made up her mind and was about to stand, a giant fireball slams against the rock with a loud bang as it explodes. She springs up, urgency replacing the sickness and smoky haze she'd been in. She drops to the ground as another one flies over her head. The screen splits and shows two other tributes as they run from the fireball onslaught. The three of them run through the trees, zigzagging as they attempt to dodge the falling branches and the deadly fire orbs aimed for their heads. One makes it out of the fireball zone and the screen disappears as he throws himself on the ground and lies there.

There aren't two screens for long. Katniss takes the entire screen as she begins to gag again. She can't stop and throws herself against a tree, coughing, clutching her throat as her body violently spasms again and again. The camera zooms in as she wipes her eyes and reaches at her head. She pulls out clumps of burnt hair from her braid and stairs at it as the pieces drift to the ground. She is completely out of it. Her eyes aren't focused, her face is pale as snow but with a sharp contrast of flushed cheeks.

She can't even move when the fireball flies out at her. I can see it happen, and I can see that she isn't going to move fast enough. Vick gasps next to me and buries his face in my pant leg as Katniss yells out when she is hit. Her pants ignite and she rolls it around in the dirt to put it out before ripping the fabric away before it melts into her burn.

"Gale," I hear my mother say, but I can't respond. Her hands are covered in large welts, her face is cut up and bleeding, and her leg is damn near burnt off. I feel my mom pull Vick off me and usher them back into bed. Katniss lies there rolling her leg back and forth, her body involuntarily lurching forward with pain.

"Gale," my mom says again. This time I look at her. Her face is filled with concern for me, not for Katniss. I glance back at the screen where she still is on the ground. My mom grabs my face, her hand behind my neck and I look at her once more. She says nothing, but pulls me toward her and her arms lock in place. Slowly, I find myself responding, my chin resting on her shoulder. As I stand there, I realize that I am crying. I realize that I am afraid for Katniss, but also afraid for me. What would _I _do without her? She's my best friend, and I care for her as much as I care for my family. And I can't lose her.

My mom lets me go and I look back at the screen. Katniss is limping away, out of the smoke. The map comes up with her location and I see that she is headed straight for a pond. I wipe my eyes from the few tears of relief that still escape from my eye. I take a breath and calm myself.

"She's alive, Gale. She will make it."

I feel much more composed and take a seat. "If it were just her and the tributes. The Capitol wants them all dead and if they didn't want a good show, she wouldn't be alive right now. They shouldn't have that much power, they—"

"Shhhh…" my mom whispers. "It's okay, I know, but you can't say those things."

I stand and pull my boots and jacket on. "I know one place I can say whatever I want."

"Gale, it's nearly five in the morning."

"I'll be back to bring them to school."

I don't want to wait for her response about how we can't say what we want, or to sleep it off. I was wrong when I said watching Katniss starve was worse than watching her die instantly. Watching her even come close to death, to see it staring her in the face, was the worst. I'm angry, and that's what I want to be as I head toward the hole in the fence.

_A/N: So this was mostly stuff we know from Katniss' perspective, but I feel like this would have been such a pivotal moment for Gale in terms of his character arc. He really sees just what the Capitol has the power to do to the people he loves, and I wanted to focus on him seeing it, even though we see all of it in the actual book. So I hope that wasn't too boring without any really new info! Let me know what you thought, as always! And thank you for reading!_


	8. The Tracker Jackers

_The Tracker Jackers_

I barely make it home in time to walk Vick and Rory to school. They wait for me by the door as I run around grabbing my things. My mother is already gone, out collecting clothes to wash for the day with Posy strapped to her back, no doubt.

"You're late," mutters Rory accusingly.

"I know," I growl back. My body aches, it's tired and sore from running in the woods, running home, sleeplessly worrying about Katniss in a place where I can't help her. I'm done running.

When I get to my own class, it has already started. I ignore the chastising look my teacher gives me and I glance at the screen on the wall on my left. It is showing Caesar now, an interview with the Head Game Maker, Seneca Crane. The sound is off so we can't hear, but I know it's a good sign that nothing is going on in the arena. On my right is Rusk, taking notes with a vengeance, making no note of his brother's appearances on the screen as Caesar pulls up a few key moments from the Career's reaction to the fire last night.

My teacher, Mrs. Sparrow, continues talking about the unique properties of coal. I could have taken these notes in my sleep, that's how many times we have already learned about coal. Instead, I raised my hand. Mrs. Sparrow nodded at me, stopping mid-sentence, probably wondering what question anyone could come up with about coal.

"What would happen to the Capitol if something happened to District 12 like it did to District 13?"

A hush falls over the class and all heads turn to me. District 13 is still a touchy subject, despite it having been gone for 74 years. My teacher stares at me, clearly wracking her brain for some way to answer. "Well, we are not in a rebellion," she says at last, "So I wouldn't worry about what would happen to the Capitol."

She turns back to her piece of coal, but I interrupt her this time. "Right, but hypothetically? We are the last natural energy source in Panem. Sure Districts 3 and 5 might handle power and electricity, but the Capitol is reliant on us to fuel most of their things and to lower the prices of their power usage. I guess it's like the Capitol is nothing without the Districts, yet it is still punishing us for the rebellion."

Mrs. Sparrow takes a visibly deep breath. "Well, Gale," my name hisses through her lips. I'm speaking out, an opinion that could get me sent to the Peacekeepers and beaten or worse. I'm risking my family all with one statement, and that isn't right either. But she does continue to answer me. "Our relationship with the Capitol is symbiotic. They get what we provide them, and we receive their… protection and they provide us with means to live." It couldn't have been only me hearing the loathing in her voice. I'd struck a nerve with her, but her better sense does what mine can't: she defends the Capitol. "The Hunger Games are a reminder that we are… subjects of the Capitol. To win the Hunger Games is a tremendous honor. If Katniss or Peeta wins the games this year, it would be the first in 24 years, and we would be proud for either of them to win."

She turns again, but once more, I can't stop myself. Whispers echo around me. "You still didn't answer my—"

"Gale Hawthorne!" She slams her shaking hands down on her desk and eyes me before they dart to the door. "Enough." The word is a warning, not a punishment. I nod and take out my pencil, tapping it against my notes for the rest of class as I think of ways the Districts could strike against the Capitol. By lunch time, I convince myself that even that is too radical for me to accomplish. I need to start smaller.

"—so when we kill her, maybe she won't scream." My head whips to the screen that is playing in the lunch room. Peeta stands in the remnants of Katniss' forest, the charred and dead one that she herself nearly died in last night.

Cato laughs at him, "What's the point in that. I want to hear the Girl on Fire scream."

"I think waiting for her scream is a waste of time," mutters Peeta with a scowl.

I hear a snigger behind me. Spinning around, I see Rusk staring at the screen as well. When he sees me, the small smirk on his face vanishes, but the fact that he was smirking at all has me infuriated. I grab him by the shirt collar, every impulse in me wants to punish him for his brother.

"You think that's funny? That's my best friend your brother is talking about killing!"

"It's the Hunger Games!" he shouts back, pushing my shoulder. "They're all going to die anyway!"

"No faith in your own brother? Well, I wouldn't either. He must have lost quite a few sponsors with this stunt of his. First he claims he is in love with Katniss, now he's hunting her and plotting her murder? I can see where he gets his twisted little brain!"

"Hey!" he screams again, this time shoving me off of him with more force, "Lay off my brother! He's trying to stay alive!"

"Now you want to act like a concerned brother? He wouldn't have to be _staying alive_ if you'd volunteered for him like Katniss did for Prim!"

He doesn't say anything else, but rears his fist back. He stayed like that for so long that when he actually swung I had plenty of time to move over.

"Gale Hawthorne!" comes a different voice. It's Mrs. Sparrow again, and she gives Rusk a look that warns him to find a seat far away. "I think you should go home for the day. I'll let your brother's teachers know. You need to clear your head and then use it." She looks around at everyone whose head is turned to us. "Watch what you say from now on, and no more fights. I can't be here all the time and I doubt you'll receive a warning next time."

I grab my bag off the floor and storm out of the school. I go home and change into my hunting clothes, determined to actually bring home some meals today for the Everdeen's and for us. But I return with a rabbit and a sack of herbs. Rushing to the Hob, I make a few trades and manage to get a small meal for the Everdeen's and two for us to share. By now, the sun is setting and my mom waits for me at the door with her arms crossed.

"I brought food," I say, trying to lighten what I already know is coming: a lecture.

Her face is worn down, her eyes dark and baggy from sleepless nights and stress. I've added to her problems recently, I know, more than I have helped her. Ashamed, I look at the floor. "I'm sorry."

"How many times?" she asks, her head shaking. She closes the door behind her quietly and steps out to meet me. "How many times, Gale? You're not a stupid boy, you're bright so I don't know what part doesn't stay with you. _They _are dangerous. They hear you when you say the things you said today. You're my baby, my oldest baby, no matter how old you get, and I just want to protect you. But Gale, I can't protect you if you bring them here, if they hear some of the things you say or imply. Please, I can't lose you. The next time you get angry, think about your brothers, your sister… me. Please, Gale, don't speak against them, no matter what you feel."

"I know."

"I know you do, but you don't think outside of the moment. Think of the future. When Katniss comes back would you rather be here waiting for her, or somewhere else?"

I nod, my mother is always right. She opens the door behind her. "Kids, we're headed to the Everdeen's. Rory, grab Posey bring her to me please." She looks at me one more time. "The things you do will affect them. Remember that too."

After a few hours at the Everdeen's, I can see my mom is ready to head back home. Katniss has barely been featured, she's still in the spring. By now, it's late, the sun has almost entirely set; all but a sliver is left. But as I'm about to get off the chair, Katniss is on the screen again, and this time, so are the Careers.

"Mom!" I call out as Katniss springs to her feet, hearing the Career's approach. She splashes out of the water and straight for the sturdiest tree she sees. Her leg slows her down, her limp is bad, she barely puts any pressure on the leg. As she climbs the tree, it's all in her arms. The blisters across her hands are visibly painful as she uses the crook of her arms whenever she can. But she bites down and grips the tree limbs as she pulls herself from branch to branch while the weary Career's close in.

They too look like they were in the fire. Glitter, or whatever her name is, has smoky hair, covered in soot and ash. Cato coughs as he runs with his bulky sword in his hand. And Peeta. He looks worse, like he'd been hit with a branch or something because he was not looking well, his face is pale as they run after Katniss.

I hear Prim gasp as she and the Careers stare at each other. They have the advantage of weapons. Shimmer has the bow that I know Katniss desperately wants —needs—even. But Katniss has the advantage of being incredibly lightweight. She climbs trees back home like she was born to be a squirrel. If I ever try going up a tree, it usually results in a broken limb, and not just the trees.

"How's everything with you?" Katniss calls down. It's husky, the smoke from before seems like it still may have lingered in her lungs. But she smiles, confident. She must have realized that the Careers will never be able to climb up to her, and she knows how to be sarcastic.

This surprises them, but Cato answers her. "Well enough. Yourself?"

Katniss sniggers, but it's forced, I can see her fear. She knows this could be hit or miss. "It's been a bit warm for my taste. The air's better up here. Why don't you come up?"

I laugh, she is baiting him and he's arrogant enough not to notice. But Prim grabs my shoulder. "Why is she doing that, Gale? She'll get killed. He's stronger, he can climb right up."

The screen is zoomed out, showing them both among the branches. I turn. "See this branch here?" I point to one thin one that he will have to grab because of the distance between the others, and it _will_ break, and he _will_ fall. "Your sister is thin and she can pull her weight onto these branches and be okay. She also knows what she's doing. We do this all the time in the woods. He's going to break these branches and fall and hurt himself."

And he does.

After goading him some more, he climbs the tree and right where I pointed to, the branch broke, landing him square on his back. Glimmer tries to climb but backs back down and shoots an arrow so far away, I wonder if she even aimed for Katniss. But Katniss gets the arrow and waves it around tauntingly, but I can see her grip tighten. She wants the bow to go with it.

"Oh let her stay up there. It's not like she's going anywhere. We'll take care of her in the morning." That traitor.

The screen splits between the Careers on the ground and Katniss in the tree, but I ignore the Careers. I don't care what they are saying. I watch Katniss treat her wounds as best she can in the tree. As she is ready to settle down, she hears, or senses, something and the screen splits a third time, showing little Rue gazing at Katniss. After a moment, she points up in the tree and her camera turns to show a nest of tracker jackers just above Katniss' head. When Katniss realizes what it is, she freezes against the tree, still and not breathing. Tracker jackers are more deadly than the worst tribute. They are not to be messed with. We have seen them in the woods before and it's best to just stay away.

Then Katniss loses her brain cells. She grabs her knife and slides out of her sleeping bag.

"Oh no," I whisper. "No, no."

She climbs up slowly to the nest. I turn to my mom and look at Prim, Rory and Vick as they stare at the screens. I know that even one sting could kill her if it was in the wrong spot. Mrs. Everdeen sees my face first.

"Prim, I know you want to watch, but it's late and you have school tomorrow. If anything happens, we'll wake you. Go to sleep, okay?"

"No mom!"

"Rory, Vick," my mom starts, "You too. Come on, into the bed. Prim?"

My mom takes them away and Mrs. Everdeen sits in Prim's seat and buries her face. My mom finally returns and rests her hand on her friend's shoulder. There is no playing for the camera. Katniss saws through the branch with all her might, her fear and desperation clear on her face as she tries to beat the anthem. If she can cut it before it ends, no one would have heard her. But then it does end. She decides to wait to finish the job. She slinks back to her bag and finds a sponsor gift.

One screen changes to a close up of the little can. "Edmund's Burn Cream sponsors Katniss Everdeen. Has your Avox ever knocked into your Hairlifter and started a fire? Well, prepare to buy the cream that will soothe and remove the burn before you can say 'ouch!' Brought to you again by Edmund's Burn Cream. "

"We'll stay with you tonight, hon. Just in case anything happens before the morning. Okay?" My mom rubs small circles on Mrs. Everdeen's back. She nods.

"Thank you guys… for everything."

"It's not over yet," I say, as I watch Katniss sigh in relief from the expensive cream.

When I wake up at dawn, it's to a familiar sawing noise. My head falls off my shoulder and I watch the screen. Katniss is sawing at the branch again. My mom and hers are already watching in horrified silence. I cover my mouth and watch as the tracker jackers are more alive than last night, and they begin to fly all around Katniss. One lands on her knee and she hisses, pulling on the neck of her shirt and biting it before continuing to saw. One stung her. She pushes at the branch as she saws the last bit and the wood crackles and snaps as it falls to the ground and the nest bursts open.

There is no time to celebrate. Two more jackers sting her in the neck and the face. She wobbles while pulling out the embedded stingers. On the ground, Glimmer and Coi have been battered by stings, they can't stand, bodies swelling up like air pockets ready to burst. Glimmer's screams subside until she is nothing more than an inflated corpse. Katniss falls to the ground, landing hard on her feet before falling to her knees, not entirely there. Her eyes already look slightly glazed over as she runs her hand along her knee. But some sense of self-preservation clicks on and she staggers to the dead body of Glimmer. Katniss looks ready to throw up and pass out as she pries the bow from Glimmer's hands, though gross, I know Katniss has seen worse. I can see that she is freaked out by something else, something entirely in her mind. She rips at the quiver, barely breathing then breathing all too much. The Games are already taking the dead body of the District 4 girl away and they want the girl from 1.

Katniss finally acquires the quiver in time for a body to crash through the trees, spear in hand. She readies an arrow, if you want to call her fumbling around "readying" it. Peeta stares at her, confused and concerned. I don't understand. Until I do.

"What are you still doing here? Get up! Get up! Run!" He shoves her swaying body away. "Run!" I slam my head back against the chair. He has been playing both sides. He's not killing her. This is his perfect chance, why wouldn't he unless he was really on Katniss' side? Cato bursts through the bushes, grunting and swearing as Katniss takes off. Peeta stays behind with his spear.

"You traitor!" yells Cato as he swings at Peeta. "You lied to us!"

Peeta had been stung in the ear, clearly his head twitching had to be the venom. He twitches again and this time, Cato's sword swipes him across the knee, splattering blood everywhere. Peeta cries out and drops his spear, falling to the ground and clutching his leg. Cato smirks as he sees some tracker jackers return from the top of the tree. He jabs the spear into Peeta's leg one more time before taking a few cautious steps away.

"See if you can follow your girlfriend now."

_A/N: Hey all! Sorry it was so long between chapters this time. I needed a little break from this story to refresh and regroup. So I wrote this one a little bit longer than the others to make up for that! I quickly proofread this chapter so I apologize for any typos or tense-changes but I don't think there is anything drastically wrong but if you see anything that makes you cringe, let me know too! But anywho, hope you enjoyed that chapter! Let me know what you think, as always! Thanks!_


	9. The Dark Dreams

_The Dark Dreams_

After Katniss had staggered off and collapsed into a heap off to the side of a tree, she wasn't worth the camera's attention. For the rest of the night, the only people they showed were the careers. They did show the reactions some of the others had when they saw Glimmer's face in the night sky, and Caesar couldn't stop talking about Peeta. Does that man ever sleep?

When I wake the next morning, I see Caesar still on the screen, yapping away about highlights from last night for anyone who missed what Katniss did. Thankfully, there isn't sound. The smell of kettle boiling water fills my nose and I slide off the Everdeen's couch. My mom and Mrs. Everdeen are pouring oatmeal into bowls when they both see me.

"Good morning, Gale. Breakfast is just finishing," she says with a smile. I look at my mom, hers is more forced, telling me not to question anything. I understand my mom's silent messages more so since my dad's death. Instead, I just sit at the table, in the seat she pulls out for me. I look around the room and see Prim, Rory and Vick running in from outside.

Prim's eyes dart to the screen and mine follow. There is text on the screen that reads: '_Is Katniss really out of the woods? Not yet, not with those stings, experts say."_ I notice that Mrs. Everdeen deliberately places herself between Prim and the screen, forcing her to move away and sit at the table. It's only when I take my first bite that I realize just how wrong today is.

"Why aren't they at school? Or you at work?"

It is my mom who answers. "School was canceled today. Some of the Capitol team will be here today for interviews and to get a sense of District 12. So I took off work and there's no school."

"Interviews?" I ask with a groggy confusion.

This time, it's Mrs. Everdeen who responds. "You know how at this point they interview the family and friends? Well, we don't often get kids who make it this far and this year there are two. It's become a big to-do. Effie Trinket is already here. Haymitch Abernathy, their mentor, will be around later just before the cameras arrive. Prim and I have to get the house ready. I think the distraction will do us good."

"I don't want to interview," Prim mutters quietly.

"You will probably just be asked a few questions, Love. I'm sure the Reaping will come up. Just be honest and it'll all be over soon and they'll be on their way off." She swallows hard and coughs as it gets stuck in her throat. She holds her hand up to show that she's okay, but anyone can see she isn't. My mom is comforting her and grabs some water.

Then there's a knock on the door.

Mrs. Everdeen's head shoots up so fast that she begins to cough again. I stand up and open it, expecting a blinding flash of camera lights. Instead, I see Madge.

She's in a nice dress, one nice enough to be worn to the Reaping, and I know that means she will be on camera at some point today. In her hands is one large box and a smaller one on top of it. I step aside to let her in and she places the boxes on the table before making craning her neck to make sure Katniss' mom is okay.

"Hello," she whispers tentatively. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt your morning. I just wanted to get here before the cameras."

Katniss' mom clears her throat and takes a deep breath, clearly relived it wasn't a camera crew. "Madge, it's good to see you. What can I do for you?" Like a reflex, her head turns to the screen, checking to see if anything has happened to Katniss. When she's satisfied she didn't miss something important, she looks back at Madge, waiting.

Madge looks around the room and spots Prim, smiling at her as she does. "I had some old dresses that don't fit me anymore and I was wondering if you thought Prim might want them? I have no sisters so they'd just go to waste." She hands the larger box to Prim who excitedly takes one of the dresses and holds it in front of her. Then her eyes dart to her mother for approval. I see her nod and Prim thanks Madge before taking the box into her room to change.

For a moment, I find that I'm angry with Madge. Did she think that Prim didn't have anything else nice to wear today? That because she was rich she felt obligated to help Prim? It took some effort to push the thoughts from my mind. I've done all I can to provide a meal every day to both of our families. Sure, a lot of times it's not a President's meal, it might even be stale bread, but I get it to them so Prim doesn't take the tesserae. And I'll be damned if Rory takes any. After the Reaping for these Games, I lost the benefit of taking tesserae, but that doesn't mean I'll let my family take any. Have I not been able to do enough for them?

Madge smiles at Prim and hands the second box to Mrs. Everdeen. When she opens it and starts to protest, Madge interrupts her. "My father said for me to tell you not to argue. He got one for you and one for the Mellark family too. He says you'll have earned it by the time the day's out."

I can't help my curiosity. I creep up behind my mom and peer into the box and my mouth drops. Inside is a large, juicy, slab of meat. I'd never seen anything so amazing in all my life, not even when my dad was around and we had his pay too. The fact that Madge's father could afford two of these astounded me.

"Oh Madge…" was all Mrs. Everdeen could manage as we all stared at the mouth-watering food.

"Whenever you feel stressed out today, just remember that's waiting for you." She smiles and starts to back out of the house. "Good luck today."

"Madge!" Mrs. Everdeen calls out. "Thank you. Thank your father for me as well." When Madge leaves, Mrs. Everdeen shakes her head. "I'm not even sure how to cook this. I might ask someone. Do you know?" She turns to my mom, who only shrugs in response. "Well, then. We'll figure it out tonight. Will you come after the cameras have left?"

My mom looks at me, her mouth open. "Oh, no, Hun, this is for you and Prim. You two deserve it."

Mrs. Everdeen grabs my mom's hand. "You've been with me… with us through this all. Gale deserves this. You deserve this. Your kids do. You're sharing this meal with Prim and I."

My mom looks defeated, like she can't say no without seeming ungrateful (and it's no secret how much we all want a bite out of that meat) and she doesn't want to say yes and take the meat from Prim and her mom. In the end, my mom nods and picks Posy up, ushering Rory and Vick out the door. "I will see you later then."

"Thank you," I say to Mrs. Everdeen before I close the door behind me.

I walk my family home and quickly wash and dress into something that doesn't look like I spent my day hunting in the woods in. I help to get Rory ready while mom tackles Vick and Posy. I go to open the door, my curiosity getting to me twice already. I want to see what this camera team is all about. I hear mom call out to me before I can leave.

"Gale! No woods, and no hob. No trading with the Peacekeepers either. There will be extra security today. If something seems illegal, it probably is, so don't do it."

I turn and see her worried face and I try to grin. "'Why do today what you can do tomorrow?'" I say proudly.

She barks out a laugh. "I won't even correct you today. Be safe, Love."

"You know me."

She shakes her head in amusement. "That's why I said it. Go. Don't worry too much today, there is nothing anyone can do about Katniss. She's strong, she'll fight through this too."

"I know." I close the door behind me and try not to think about her for at least a few minutes and head to the square.

When I get there, there are already a ton of people watching the Games. Apparently something interesting is happening with the Careers. They've finished their mine trap around their food and the boy from District 3, Atlas, is showing the others how to navigate the mine field. It shows Finch watching from a distance, her ears and eyes perked up like a fox who'd caught the scent of something. Her head is bouncing back and forth, watching, memorizing. There is nothing about Katniss right now.

Peacekeepers line the train platform and it seems I'm just in time to see the camera crew and Haymitch step off the train. Or in his case, it was like fumbling off. Even a blind person could have seen Effie as she stepped forward to greet them. Her purple wig is like the sun, it hurts to look at directly. She and Haymitch immediately begin arguing about something and she sniffs dramatically a few times before pushing him in front of her. They head to Victors Village, the nearly deserted row of perfect houses reserved for those who've won the Hunger Games. Only Haymitch lives there.

There are several people who remain behind in the square, setting up an interesting looking tarp with dots all over it. They line up their equipment and get it ready for sit-down interviews. Everyone freezes though when Katniss comes up on the screen. I feel my heart stop as I watch her convulse. She is still asleep, but she begins to mutter to herself. No one understands it, not even me.

"She's having what we call 'Dark Dreams,'" says the doctor who shows up on another screen with Caesar. "After the hallucinations, she is still experiencing very real scenarios in her mind. It is the breakdown the mind faces while the body focuses on healing what the venom damaged. Mostly these are night terrors. The venom attacks the part of the brain that deals with fear."

Katniss comes back on the screen and I watch her lips as they move. She is saying "Prim" again and again. Then she twitches suddenly and I see her mouth repeatedly form the word "no" over and over. Once or twice she stops and a new word takes its place. "Prim" and even "dad" are two of the words, and then I suck in my breath when I see her mouth form my name. She twitches again and is still. Caesar and the doctor try to make out her words in a replay.

I look away and see Effie leading the mayor and Madge to the interview. I look back up at the screen which shows Peeta covering himself in mud and dirt and plants, eerily beginning to blend in with everything around him. He looks white, like a ghost, and overall just awful.

Then Caesar cuts in and talks about Peeta for a while. Madge is talking now, pointing somewhere in the distance. Then I hear Caesar say, "Friends and family of our tributes are being interviewed as we speak. We will see what they have to say later on today, after the interviews are done. I'm so excited, I must admit. It's been some time since we've see inside of District 12, the home of everyone's favorite star-crossed lovers, am I right!"

I begin to head to the Hob, but I remember my mom's warning and decide against it. Instead, I just sit in the square with the others and watch the Games. The boy from 11, Thresh, is racing against a flood in the wheat field. He is so unconcerned though, like he knows that he can beat the ticking clock. He runs with his arms out, holding his things above the water.

They interview Haymitch, and then I see Effie leading Prim and her mom to the seat. I can't hear what they're saying, but I can see Mrs. Everdeen prodding Prim to answer something. She knows that the sooner they talk, the sooner it ends.

Nearly midday when they finally finish answering their questions. Effie takes off again, toward their house with a camera crew. She walks like the Earth will give way beneath her. Or like the more her shoes touch the ground, the more likely she is to get a disease. I look back at Haymitch. He's clearly unhappy being here. His eyes scan the place, empty and haunted, when they meet mine and he pulls a small bottle from his pockets. He raises it up to me in a toast of sorts before chugging it down and walking away.

I don't see where he goes but I am pretty sure he doesn't go far. I have the feeling that if Effie were to find him somewhere else, she'd ream him out in that ridiculous voice of hers.

"Gale Hawthorn."

I can hear the voice so clearly, it's absurd. Then I feel two hands on my shoulder turning me around. It's the Peacekeepers. One of them is Darius. He gives me a death glare, like I did something wrong.

"This is him," he mutters.

Effie appears from behind him and claps her hands together. "Wonderful!" she says, stretching out each syllable. "Come, come, come along."

She grabs my arm and her long nails dig deep into my skin. She nearly forces me into the seat and several crazy looking people run up to me and begin pulling at my hair and my shirt. It's the thing out of childhood nightmares where those clowns with giant red hair pop out and kill you. I've only seen clowns in old movies that we see some years when the cables to the screens work. Still, this is the same exact thing.

I push them away and spring to my feet. "What's going on?"

She looks at me like I asked why the Capitol exists. "My dear, didn't anyone tell you? You're being interviewed. For Katniss. Everyone says you're closest to her besides her sister. Were they wrong?"

I look back and see the clowns holding combs and hair spray. I look down and see they've buttoned up my shirt like ninjas. And then I see Haymitch studying me, looking me over like I was meat.

"No," I mutter, like a small child, "They weren't."

"Wonderful!" she says again. Haymitch heads over to her and the woman behind the cameraman. They whisper among themselves and I strain my ears to hear but I get nothing. Effie and Haymitch stand there with their arms crossed and the director smiles broadly at me.

She turns to the camera man. "Castor, stay on a frontal shot. Amneris, profile please."

I sit, sensing that it's my cue. I think of Mrs. Everdeen's strategy and wait patiently as they set up. The director looks at me again. "Gale, hi there. I'm just going to ask you a few questions and I want you to answer honestly. Okay?" So I nod.

"How long have you known Katniss?"

"I've known her forever, I think. I'm a few years older, but it's a close community in the Seam so I've really always known her."

The woman nods. "And how long have you been friends? How did you become friends?"

I look up at the screen. Katniss isn't there. "I was 14, and she was 12 when our fathers were killed in the same mining accident. We became friends after that."

"Is it hard watching her in the Games?"

"Yeah, it is. But she's strong. She's a fighter."

The woman nods and glances behind her before turning back to me. "Is there anything going on with you and Katniss?"

"What?" I ask, caught off guard.

"Everyone we've spoken to has said that she spends most of her time with you. I just want to make sure that there is nothing we are unaware of. I mean, you're a very handsome young man."

"I-I uh," I look back up and see Haymitch looking at me again. I know now, he sees it. He saw it before I even knew. I take a deep breath. "No, there is nothing going on. She's my best friend."

The woman smiles again. "Good. Cut! That was good. Thank you, Gale."

Effie ushers me up and they begin packing their things. Haymitch, however, runs up to me and pulls me aside. "Tell me something," he says. His voice slurs and he reeks. "Did she ever meet Peeta before the Games? This is off the record."

I shake my head. "I don't think so. We're from the Seam. You know we wouldn't have been around them too often."

"Thanks, Kid."

I nod once before heading back home. I don't want to stay under their scrutiny. I don't know how Katniss does it, knowing that they're always watching, that we're always watching. And later that night, with fresh meat steaming under our noses, we watch the interviews. There are mentors and friends talking about how strong their tribute is. They start with District 1 and work their way up to 12. Peeta's interview comes first. His family talks about him and his painting skills. They talk about how they're not surprised he's in love with a strong woman, but that they wish he would fight harder for his own life. All things that will make people like him more.

Then Caesar comes on with Katniss' picture and he gets all excited. "My Girl on Fire! Let's see what her friends and family think of her journey so far." His face darkens and Haymitch and Effie appear first.

Haymitch speaks first. "She's a very interesting character. If there is any stronger contestant, we haven't seen them yet. This girl volunteered for her sister. There is nothing stronger than that."

"Yes," chimes in Effie, "she's extradenery. And we spoke with her sister today as well."

Prim is there now, her new blue dress from Madge looking great on camera. "When Katniss volunteered for me I was sad. I didn't want her to go. I miss her, but I know she'll come home."

"It's been hard on both of us, but we have the love and support of family and friends," adds her mother.

Madge and her father appear. "Katniss Everdeen is a good, hard working citizen of 12. She's my daughter's age and they've known each other for years now."

"Katniss is my friend," Madge says. "But her closest friend is Gale."

I show up next, and below my name I have to do a double-take. It says I'm her cousin. The room fills with the other's murmurs. "I've known her forever, but we really became friends when our fathers were killed in the same mining accident. But she's strong. She's a fighter. She's my best friend." It fades out and, like all the others, it shows her highlights from the Games so far. Her fight at the cornucopia, her fireball chase, and the tracker jackers are all the featured scenes, but then they begin to talk about her and Peeta again.

I shake my head and sigh. I just want to run, to be in the woods and get this energy out. Seeing his face as he stares at her in the tree, watching him try to save her. I feel this unfamiliar and definitely unwarranted hate bubbling inside me. And I've finally realize why.

_A/N: I'm fudging something from the book, for anyone who is really dedicated. Interviews with those at home are when there are 8 contestants left (odd number but okay), but here I am pretty sure I have 10 still because I want to have the focus on what Gale sees in the next chapter, and not the interviews. So if you're keeping an eye out, this is an on-purpose error! If you didn't notice (which I wouldn't have if I wasn't the one writing it)… errr I hope it doesn't bother you now!_


	10. The Day to Rue

_The Day to Rue_

I spent all of last night in the woods again. When I came back, I found out Katniss had finally woken up and teamed up with the little girl from 11, Rue. They apparently came up with half a plan to take out the career's food supply. By the time I'd gotten home, trying to make up for the few days I lost, I was exhausted and didn't even make it to my bed, collapsing onto the couch. When the volume on the screen suddenly turn on full blast, I nearly fall off the couch.

My eyes dart up and I breathe a sigh when I see the boy from 10, Marin, the one who went into the games injured. He's been struggling for days to find water. Clove is watching him from the bushes and it's clear that Marin doesn't have a chance. She shakes a bush just enough so he can see her and she lets out this manic laugh as he starts to run. But he's weak and limp and she's been well fed and rested since day one. She catches up to him, throwing a knife into his good leg, sending him stumbling to the ground. She swaggers over to him; I've seen some scary tributes before, but this is who Katniss is facing. And when she flips him onto his back with the knife in her hand, I see Katniss' face, not Marin's. When she digs the knife deep into his neck, just off to the side so it doesn't kill him right away, I realize I can't watch.

The cannon wakes my mom and Rory. They rush out, breathless and scared until they see that the one who just died is not Katniss. Then their shoulders sag in relief and they notice me for the first time. Rory moves beside me and sits with his head on my shoulder. I rest my head on his and see how early it is in the morning.

After the hovercraft has taken the tribute's body and Caesar's sleepless self appears again, he seems to focus on Clove for only a few minutes. Clove goes back to the other Careers and recounts her kill in gory detail, even exaggerating it a bit. Thankfully for me, Caesar is more interested in Rue and Katniss' plan.

"Katniss," Rue asks, "even if you could get to the food, how would you get rid of it?"

Katniss shrugs playfully. "Burn it. Dump it in the lake. Soak it in fuel." She pokes Rue in the stomach. I realize now what I should have seen a long time ago. Rue reminds her of Prim. I've seen her do that a hundred times. "Eat it!" They both giggle, as if their lives weren't in mortal danger, as if they can both make it out alive. "Don't worry, I'll think of something. Destroying things is much easier than making them."

"Haha!" barks Caesar. "That's our girl!"

I can't go back to sleep. I almost want to go back to the woods, but I need to get up, get ready. Katniss and Rue gather berries and talk. I can't watch her fall in step with this girl. She sees Prim, not a tribute. She sees a friend, not just an ally. She can't see someone who has to die if she's going to live, and I don't want to look at that little girl like that either.

I'm gone within minutes, no food, just a goodbye. Mom promises to get the kids to school today so I don't need to come back. I go and sit in the square again. I need to see people walking to the mines, to work, to school. I need to see that this is a normal day, like every other. This is not a life or death day. Katniss will come up with her plan and do it tomorrow. There is no reason for her to do it today.

I see Madge sitting with a book, pretending to read and really staring at the screens. Without really thinking, I get up and sit beside her. "Hey," I say. "What are you reading?"

She looks like she didn't even realize she had a book in her hand. She puts it away and her cheeks flush. "I wasn't reading," she admits.

"I didn't think you were."

"I gave her that pin, you know?" I look up at the screen and see Katniss and Rue talking about her mockingjay pin. "I wanted to make sure she knew she wasn't alone. Like that as long as she wore that, she knew we were watching. That we were with her."

She and Rue whistle a tune before hugging and splitting off from each other with half of the others things. Their plan is in place and they're ready to act on it.

"She knows."

Katniss walks through the woods in silence, the screen split between her and Rue. Katniss heads back towards the Cornucopia while Rue goes to set the distraction fires. The bell tolls in the distance and I know need to get to school. Madge stands up and grabs my arm as I go to turn.

"Wait Gale! Did you want to meet back here after school? I don't want to watch Katniss do this alone. I don't think you should be either."

I start to protest, to say that I have to watch the Games with my mom or Mrs. Everdeen, but I stop myself before I do. I nod. "Yeah. I'll bring my brothers home and then meet you here."

It took Katniss all morning to make it down to the tree with the tracker jackers, and just as school was ending, she finally made it all the way to the Cornucopia. I grab Vick and put him on my shoulders, while Rory walks a few paces in front of me. I see Madge watching me as she's about to head down the path to the square. She waves and I nod back. Of course, that makes Rory begin to ask questions.

"Is that your girlfriend?"

From my shoulders, I hear Vick, "No, Katniss is his girlfriend."

I shake my head. "No to both of you."

Rory gives Vick a disapproving glare. "Katniss is his best friend. Like Prim is mine."

I roll my eyes. I hope not. Save him the trouble later. "You'll be there for her today, right?"

"I'm always there for her."

I reach out and tousle his hair. The only other person I know like him is Prim. To the core, they're genuinely good people. "Vick, you'll watch Posy for mom, right?" He sighs in disgust. "Hey, you're her big brother. You have to be there for her and for mom. She'll need you because Mrs. Everdeen needs mom."

He pulls at my hair a bit and I try to move free, but he's having too much fun watching me squirm. "That's it!" I say as I lift him up off my shoulders. I tuck him under my arm and carry him like he's a heavy basket.

"Hey!" he screams, but it's a laughing scream. I make sure I've got him securely in my arm as he tries to wriggle his way out.

"Nope, that's what you get for thinking I'm a horse."

Rory laughs and I tighten my grip on Vick before bending down to grab Rory around the legs. I hoist him over my shoulder and watch my face as he kicks his legs around, laughing. They're both laughing. It's a good sound. Not like the silence in the house when the Games are on. In fact, for a moment, I even forget about the Games.

I see my mom standing in the doorway smiling at us. She looks years younger when she smiles, and it's so contagious. "Dirty laundry for you, Mrs. Hawthorne!" I call out.

"No!" my brothers scream as they kick and squirm even more.

My mom giggles and I gesture to Rory, who I can feel my grip loosening on anyway. She takes him from me and looks him over. "Oh yes, this one needs a good wash!"

"I've got another one for you." I hand her Vick and he yells out again, breathless with laughter.

"They're both in for quite the rinse!" She ushers them into the house and then looks back at me.

"I'm going to watch the Games in the square with one of Katniss' friends."

"Who?"

"Madge."

She nods, "Don't rush home. We'll be at the Everdeen's if you need anything." She reaches up on her tip toes and kisses my dirty cheek. "We have another piece of dirty laundry, don't we?"

"I'm an adult mom, I will wash up later."

Her smile suddenly turned down. "Yes, yes you are." She squeezed my arm and gestured in the direction of the square. "Go."

I do. And when I reach the square, I see Madge in the same place as before with that stupid book in her face. I move beside her, talking louder than normal over the volume of the screen. "Why do you keep pretending to read that book?"

She folds it away and shrugs. "It makes me look like I'm doing something, I suppose."

I check the screen. Katniss is still scouting the Career camp. The others left to follow Rue earlier and Katniss is watching her prey. She's bent, hunched over with her bow ready in front of her legs. I know this look. She does it every time we hunt. But her head snaps up and the camera zooms in on Finch navigating the mine field that Katniss doesn't seem to know about. How could she? She watches, studying the other girl's movements. Her grip on her bow tightens and I can see her thinking. Even when Finch is back in the woods with her supplies re-stocked, Katniss is mulling over a new plan in her mind.

"She's going to shoot at something, isn't she?"

I nod, watching as the camera zooms in on her darting eyes. Of course, Caesar breaks in on a screen while the other shows Rue running away from her second fire. "Katniss is running out of time. Her window of opportunity is closing. What is she going to do?"

It's then that she steps into the clearing and readies her arrow. Her hand is shaking and I already know that she's off her game. She's nervous, and who could blame her. I was nervous for her! The arrow just touches the bag that's filled with apples. It slits it open, but it's not enough. I tune out Caesar as he continues to yap. She readies a second one and takes a deep breath. This time, her hand is rock steady. She rips the bag wide open, but it's too far off to the side. The apples stay in place. She readies one more arrow. And when the arrow flies, the bag splits it wide open. Apples tumble out of the bag and onto the ground. And Katniss is thrown into the air, landing hard on her back as the mines explode all at once.

I'm stunned. All of the screens show the tributes reacting to the explosion. Cato and the Careers are not happy and begin to run back. Rue reacts to the shaking ground, but is too far to have heard more than a rumble. It's the same with Thresh. Finch runs back to see what happened. Peeta looks worse than ever, hidden in his perfect disguise. But his droopy eyes widen, despite being unable to do anything.

Then the camera is back to Katniss. She assesses herself and her things quickly before turning to the explosion and covering her face as debris rained down on her. She smiled, satisfied with her work, and she scrambles to her feet. It doesn't last long. Her legs wobble like a toddler learning to walk and her entire body crashes into a tree. She tries again and falls to her knees. I can already see what happened and I feel sick. Her shaking hand moves to her ear and comes back bloody. Her face betrays her fear, the implications of what the explosion might have done to her. She covers it quickly, but I saw.

I feel Madge grab my hand and squeeze. I realize that I too am shaking. Katniss sees a drop of blood on the ground and pulls her hood up to cover her ear. As she crawls away, I hear Caesar yell something before another mine goes off. Katniss lands straight on her face, her eyes disoriented as she continues to crawl away. Again, another piece of debris sets off another explosion and then again. Katniss is lying in the dirt, her breathing rapid, but her arms picking her up again and dragging her limp body into the bushes.

Cato bursts through the trees and runs up to the boy from 3, Atlas. The other Careers follow closely on his heels. "What the HELL happened?" he screams as he takes in the surroundings. He literally pulls his hair so hard that a large clump came out. Without giving Atlas a chance to explain, Cato screamed again and pounded his fists against the ground, coming back up with bloodied knuckles. He kicks the bucket in front of him while Clove and Marvel sift through the wreckage. "What the hell did you—" Cato begins, but Atlas turns on his heels and starts to run. Cato reaches him in two large steps and twists his neck, snapping it. The cannon goes off.

"I'm going to kill whoever did this!" he screams. The cameras have a terrible view on Katniss, she's hidden too well, but they still try to get her reaction.

"No!" yells Clove. "Whoever did this is dead! They set off the traps. We can't afford to waste our energy hunting no one now! We'll see who it was tonight, okay?"

They move away from the pile and sit near the lake and wait to see. Katniss peeks out and takes a visible breath before retreating back into her shrub.

"She's really hurt," Madge mutters.

They show the replay several times. They analyze it. They predict what will happen next. And I sit on a bench with Madge, watching it all. We don't even talk. We just wait.

It's only after the Careers realize that there were only two deaths that day, rather than their expected three, that they take up their weapons and head back into the woods with their night vision goggles.

The sun has set and I still waited with Madge. Neither of us ate. For me, it was normal, but I wondered if she was uncomfortable or if she even noticed. She seemed to be genuinely concerned for Katniss. I felt comfortable with her, oddly enough. There were plenty of girls who tried to flirt with me, just not the one girl I wanted. And Madge didn't try anything. It made me like her more, and regret some of the things I'd thought earlier about her.

Katniss finally staggers to her feet, gripping the tree for support. She lets go and takes a step, clearly pleased that she doesn't fall again. Her hands still shake as she reaches for her own night goggles that Rue lent her. Then Katniss starts to hum and then closes her eyes, defeated. Her hearing was gone, at least in that one ear. It's written all over her face. She takes out her flask of water and takes a swig before washing out the blood from her ear and off her hands.

"Madge!" calls out a male voice. I turn and see the mayor, her father. "Come on, it's time to go home." When he sees me, he squints in the darkness. "You're Gale, right?" I nod and so does he. "I'm sorry."

Madge reaches her hand out and grabs mine again. "She'll be okay."

"Her chances of surviving just dropped without her hearing. She's a hunter. She needs her ears."

"Listen to me; she will be okay."

I cringe, but nod as I watch her pile leaves and anything she can find onto herself as her breath comes out in a visible puff from her mouth. As she drifts off, it shows others like Rue also hiding and falling asleep. She's sidetracked, trying to avoid the Careers. And they're restless, on the hunt all night. The boy, Marvel, even set several traps and snares. They're not all pretty, but they might just work.

"Madge," I say as she takes a step away. "Thank you."

She smiled. "You know where I'll be," and she followed her father back home. I did the same.

It was only after school, with all of us crammed into our house, when Katniss finally woke up. Her head shoots up and she turns her head, her right ear turned toward where Finch has been laughing. Katniss scrambles to her feet and lets out a little laugh. It all happens so fast that it takes me a good minute to realize that she's got hearing in that ear.

The kids are sitting on the floor in front of the couch with Mrs. Everdeen and my mom. I sit on the arm. Anyone who looked at us would think we were sharing a nice family moment watching an old movie during the holiday, and not watching children forced to murder other children. The Capitol makes me sick, even when I try to put it out of my mind, I remember that my best friend might die, and it would be entirely their fault.

We sit like this for a while. The screen focuses mostly on the Careers and Katniss as she makes her way back to Rue, but they're in Rue's general area, making the girl afraid to move. Meanwhile, Thresh is alone on his side of the arena, but he cuts his leg on some sharper plants. He does what he can to clean it, but it needs more. Caesar and Claudius spend a fair bit of time talking about what will happen to him in the next few days.

Sometimes, they show Katniss eating and slowly trudging through the woods, using the stream to mask her footprints. The Careers split up and go three different ways. Cato is convinced that it was Katniss, while Clove thinks it could have been Thresh. Marvel doesn't seem to care, as long as there is someone they're hunting for. They agree to meet back by the end of the day. Marvel is almost entirely on Rue's trail each time she tries to break for their meeting place. Katniss wanders and tends to her wounds as she waits, but there is nothing else she can do. She decides to go looking for her.

And then my heart clenches. The little girl makes a break down a tree, seeing her opportunity while Marvel heads the other way. Then suddenly she sets off one of his traps. It's a net that covers her, trapping her against the ground. She tries to pull it off, but it doesn't move. Her hair gets caught, her eyes well up, and Marvel is back, watching her squirm from the bushes, ready to throw his spear when he stops.

"Katniss!" Rue calls desperately. "Katniss!"

Katniss is nowhere near Rue, not yet. She's headed in that direction, but she has a little way yet to go. Marvel lowers his spear and a sick smile spreads on his face. He sits back, creeping into the bushes, waiting.

Rue realizes that screaming might not be the best idea, so she starts to talk to herself. "It's okay. Just keep calm. She's coming, she knows I was late. She won't leave me here. Okay. Breathe." She tries to push the net off her in a less frantic manner, but it's completely entangled her. She has no knife to cut her way out of it.

Caesar is going on and on, making me want to mute the screen, not that I could. I can see Prim and Rory watching the young girl with terrified eyes. Prim seems to realize that this could have been her and she starts to cry.

Rue keeps talking to herself, trying to calm her nerves. "Maybe Katniss can follow the Mockingjays." Rue sings her four note tune, changing the last note as a subtle sign to Katniss. And Katniss hears the Mockingjays. She returns the song for Rue.

Rue smiles, knowing Katniss is on her way. But Marvel hears it too. He steps closer, and Rue sees him and screams. He grins as she continues to scream. "Katniss!" The terror is clear in her eyes. She doesn't seem to understand that it's a trap, that her calling Katniss means that she's leading her straight to her death. But if she doesn't call out, she's dead.

"Rue! Rue! I'm coming!" Katniss calls as she breaks into a sprint.

There are tears pouring from Rue's eyes as she stares at Marvel. Fear has taken all the sound from her.

I lean forward in my seat. Katniss will see Marvel the second she enters the clearing. He's directly in her line of sight. But when Katniss does break through, she only sees Rue and slides to her knees in front of her, already working the net.

Rue shoves her hand through and points at Marvel, shouting out Katniss' name one more time. It's like it all happened in slow motion. I felt myself on my feet, as Marvel throws the spear at Katniss.

Katniss barely has time to see it before it lodges itself in Rue's stomach. Marvel is stunned that he missed, but it doesn't last for long. Katniss shoots her arrow through his throat before he even has his hand down. He reaches up, gurgling through the blood as it spurts out, and pulls the arrow from his neck, falling dead to the ground.

Even Caesar is quiet.

I blink a few times before pushing through the door and breathing in the cold night air. I can't be in there. My hands run through my hair several times and I can't stop my feet moving. Before I know it, I'm running. I don't even know where until I end up at the square. When I get there, Katniss is rocking Rue, singing.

_Here it's safe here it's warm. Here the daisies guard you from every harm. Here your dreams are sweet and tomorrow brings them true. Here is the place where I love you._

I recognize the song as something she told me she sings to Prim sometimes. Rue's cannon fires and I feel myself release a breath I didn't even know I was holding.

Watching Katniss cry is almost harder than knowing why. Her tears stream down her face and she bites on the sleeve of her jacket to try to quiet her sobs, but they don't stop. She gets up and takes Marvel's pack and then cuts Rue's. Tears still stream down her cheeks, her eyes rarely leaving Rue's body. Then, something seems to shift inside of her. She almost instinctively looks directly into the camera and straightens her back. Then she heads off and the screen cuts off of her.

It takes me a minute to gather myself together. Madge appears as if from nowhere, or maybe I just hadn't noticed her. I slide down the wall and rest my head against my knees. She sinks down beside me.

When I look up, I know at least one tear managed to fall. "I almost watched her die again." I took a deep breath. "I don't know how many more times I can go through that."

"You're under a lot of pressure to take care of your families. I can see that. Katniss isn't the only one who's lost weight during the Games. It's all getting to you. You need to take a breath and ignore the Games for a day."

My eyes feel dead. "And if she dies and I missed it to take a mental health day? No."

"It can be hard to watch your loved ones suffer."

I scoffed. If only she knew how spot on she was. And as I looked up at her, I had the feeling she did know. She knows that I'm in love with Katniss.

"Bye, Rue," Katniss says. As the crane reaches down to take Rue away, we can all see that Katniss surrounded the body in every flower she could find. She created a martyr in Rue. This girl wasn't just any tribute to her. And something deep inside me knew that the Gamemakers would have her pay for it.

_A/N: Sorry this one is a bit long. I could have made into two chapters but I had planned it better than I actually executed it and I didn't feel like splitting it by the time I was done. Anyway! Let me know what you think! If there is ever something Gale says or does that you don't think sounds like him, let me know in the comments! I've been away from this for a while now so I feel like I lost his voice a little bit, but I'm getting it back. I definitely plan on finishing this one sooner rather than later, but we'll see how that really goes! Thanks for reading!_


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